Hurricane Sandy Puts 261,000 Homes at Risk

Posted by Macie Melendez on October 29, 2012

Updated information on the location of Hurricane Sandy can be found on the National Hurricane Center's web site, www.nhc.noaa.gov.

CoreLogic, a leading provider of information, analytics and business services, today released data showing potential exposure to residential property damage from hurricane-driven storm-surge flooding as Hurricane Sandy makes its way toward the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

“Based on current forecasts, Sandy is likely to make landfall along the northeastern Atlantic coast early Monday,” said Dr. Howard Botts, vice president and director of database development for CoreLogic Spatial Solutions. “Though it is still early and the projected path is constantly changing, Sandy could pose an enormous threat to major metropolitan areas in the Northeast, like New York City and Long Island, Atlantic City and Baltimore.”

The data shows more than 261,000 total residential properties valued at over $80 billion at risk for potential storm-surge damage among the coastal Mid-Atlantic states, assuming the storm hits the coast as a Category 1 hurricane. Within that region, more than 210,000 total properties valued at over $67 billion stand at risk in five major metro areas from Virginia to New York.

Total number and total value of residential properties by coastal Mid-Atlantic state are:

State

Number of Properties at Risk

Value of Properties at Risk

New York

81,078

$35,128,036,406

New Jersey

75,314

$22,601,229,263

Delaware

8,894

$2,069,493,600

Maryland

30,131

$8,983,837,253

Virginia

66,544

$11,311,646,410

The number of residential properties in each metro area and their respective potential exposure to damage are as follows:

Metro Area

Number of Properties at Risk

Value of Properties at Risk

New York City-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA

119,312

$48,064,953,474

Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ

20,283

$4,807,676,476

Washington-Arlington-Alexandra, DC-VA

2,207

$734,901,116

Baltimore-Towson, MD

10,010

$3,508,329,420

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

59,042

$10,029,968,947

Hurricane-driven storm-surge flooding can cause significant property damage when high winds and low pressure causes water to amass inside the storm, releasing a powerful rush over land when the hurricane moves on shore. The CoreLogic analysis measures damage from storm surge and does not include potential damage from wind and rain associated with hurricanes.

All of this information brings to mind a sentiment expressed in a 2005 issue of Home Energy when Danny Parker stated: "Although coping with hurricanes is difficult, it does offer the opportunity to make homes more energy efficient and comfortable."

To view a map showing hurricane-driven storm-surge risk through Google Earth, visit here. To download the map as a KML file, visit here. Static maps depicting storm-surge in the Northeast are available upon request.

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